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20 Apr 2009 : Column 253W—continued
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on average per pupil in primary education in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England in each of the last five years. [267976]
Jim Knight: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Tamworth constituency is not available. In addition it is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally. The per pupil revenue funding figures for primary school pupils and all funded pupils for England and Staffordshire local authority in 2004-05 and 2005-06 are as follows. These figures are in real terms:
The revenue per pupil figures shown in the following table are taken from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) which was introduced in April 2006. They are not comparable with those for the years 2004-05 to 2005-06 because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded.
The 2004-05 to 2005-06 figures are based on Education Formula Spending (EFS) which formed the education part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. The DSG is based largely on an authority’s previous spending. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG’s Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department’s time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, the Department have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of ‘education’ funding in that year.
The per pupil revenue funding figures for years 2005-06 (baseline) to 2008-09 for England and Staffordshire local authority are provided in the following table. As the DSG is a mechanism for distributing funding, a split between primary and secondary schools is not available. The figures shown are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 and are in real terms:
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much on average his Department has spent on each pupil between 16 and 19 years in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [269715]
Jim Knight: Average funding on participation per full-time equivalent learner in Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded school sixth forms and FE colleges (including specialist schools and colleges) is presented in the following table.
| Financial year | 16-18 learners in SSF and FE colleges (£) |
| Note: Rounded to the nearest £10. | |
It is not possible to provide data prior to 2003-04 in a comparable form due to changes in the methods of measuring learner numbers.
School Leaving
Kelvin Hopkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the compulsory age of participation in education or training on his responsibilities in respect of ensuring a safe environment for all young people; and what (a) steps
he plans to take and (b) resources he plans to allocate to (i) establish and (ii) regulate such an environment. [269777]
Jim Knight: We are committed to making this country the best place for children to grow up. This includes providing world class facilities for young people to learn which are safe, support their needs and inspire them to succeed. By 2015 local authorities will need to ensure access to high quality facilities to deliver the full 14-19 entitlement, enabling all young people to be in learning.
Guidance on "Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education" came into force in January 2007. The guidance sets out the responsibilities of all local authorities, schools and FE colleges in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
Independent of DCSF, Ofsted are responsible for assessing the safety of young people in every learning environment. This includes the care, guidance and support offered to them, and the extent to which the provision contributes to them being healthy and staying safe. We envisage this will continue after the raising of the participation age has come into force.
School Meals: Somerset
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of school kitchens which were (a) opened and (b) closed in Somerset in each year from 1988-89 to 2008-09. [269180]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information.
Schools: Cornwall
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools there are in each parliamentary constituency in Cornwall with no other school serving the same age range within a (i) one and (ii) two mile radius. [262772]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is given in the following table:
| Primary | Secondary | |||||
| Total number of schools | Number of schools with no other school within 1 mile | Number of schools with no other school within 2 miles | Total number of schools | Number of schools with no other school within 1 mile | Number of schools with no other school within 2 miles | |
| Source: School Census January 2008 | ||||||
Schools: Finance
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent through the Basic Needs Safety Valve Targeted Capital Fund in 2007-08 and what his most recent estimate is of expenditure through the Fund in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [268365]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department allocated £9 million Basic Need Safety Valve funding in 2007-08. The most recent estimate of allocations is:
(a) 2008-09: £19 million;
(b) 2009-10: £32 million; and
(c) 2010-11: £26 million.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of expenditure on the Primary Capital programme for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [268368]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest estimate of allocations by the Department to local authorities in respect of the Primary Capital Programme, including amounts brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10, are
(a) £2008-09: £149 million;
(b) 2009-10: £745 million; and
(c) 2010-11: £903 million.
Local authorities are expected to add substantial resources to these allocation figures from their other capital resources, when fulfilling their Primary Capital Strategies.
Schools: Somerset
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much capital funding was allocated to schools in Somerset in each year from 1988-89 to 2008-09; and if he will make a statement. [269165]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Capital funding allocated to schools in Somerset in each year from 1996-97, the first year in which detailed records are available, to 2008-09, is set out in the following table:
| £000 | |
The increases in funding in 1998-99 to 2000-01 are due to the new deal for schools programmes, from 2000-01 the Devolved Formula Capital programme, and from 2004- 05 the Modernisation programme. The spike in 2006-07 largely results from an allocation for maintained boarding schools.
Schools: Standards
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children aged 16 years or under are attending a school participating in the National Challenge in each local education authority. [259484]
Jim Knight: The following shows the proportion of children aged 16 years or under attending schools supported by the National Challenge by local authority.
This table captures the proportion of pupils in the 440 schools currently below the 30 per cent. benchmark target where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieve five A*-C at GCSE including English and mathematics, based on validated 2008 data. These figures are captured in column A. All of these schools are receiving additional bespoke support.
The National Challenge programme does not just however support schools below the floor target. Bespoke support is also provided for schools at risk of dropping below the floor target. The table also therefore captures the proportion of pupils in schools receiving support from the National Challenge and City Challenge programmes. These figures are captured in column B.
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